Revision as of 15:36, 17 December 2015

The Holga is a plastic camera for 120 film, whose design originated in Hong Kong in 1981.[1] While many countries produced basic 120 snapshot cameras in the decades before this, the Holga's low-tech approachability and artfully-flawed optics have elevated it to a particular cult status today.

Contents

History

The Holga was created as a new product line for Universal Electronics, Ltd. of Hong Kong, who starting in 1969 had a successful business manufacturing electronic flash units. The origin of the name Holga is related to the flash strobes. The early WOC (Wing On Cheung) flash units had the Chinese characters "very bright" which is pronounced as Holgon in Cantonese. Anticipating increasing demand for cameras in mainland China, T. M. Lee set about designing a simple, rugged camera for 120 film which could be sold at an at affordable price.[2] The original camera had only one shutter speed; scale focusing guided by four pictograms; and an aperture switch for sunny versus cloudy conditions (but see below, under "Flaws").

As with another cost-reduction exercise, the Lomo LC-A, the Holga's inexpensive plastic lens gave its photographs quite a distinctive visual signature—including vignetting and pincushion distortion[3]. To reduce these faults, the camera was supplied with a snap-in mask cropping the frame to 6x4.5 cm portrait orientation (although the viewfinder image is square).

Well before the Holga existed, a number of fine-art photographers had begun using low-quality cameras for their visual qualities—most notably Nancy Rexroth's Diana photos from the mid-1970s.[4]. But by the time of the Holga's introduction, original Diana cameras had been out of production for a decade; and the Holga gradually emerged as a leading camera for those aligned with a "lo-fi," toy camera aesthetic. The optical flaws revealed by shooting a full 6x6 Holga image became a desired effect for many photographers, who removed the 6×4.5 film gate to yield an image with indistinct, dark edges.

While today many associate the Holga with the Lomography brand, the camera had already been on sale for a decade before the creation of the Lomography Society.[5] However LSI is a significant global distributor for Holga cameras today.

In November 2015, Holga camera manufacturing has ceased and the tooling has been discarded.[6]

Flaws

Inaccurate viewfinder (shows less than the photo area; also no indication of 6x4.5 framing area)

Flimsy metal catches can allow back to fall off (can be improved with needlenose pliers)[7]

Insufficient friction on spools means film may wind loosely and become light flashed on removal

"Sunny" position is actually a placebo; it does not reduce the effective aperture (fixed in 2009 and later [8])

Light leaks can flash film, especially if film gate is removed (improved in 2009 and later[9])

Failure of shutter to re-cap on release causes ghost image in lower right corner (fixed in 2009 and later[10])

The plastic of the Holga body itself is reasonably sturdy, and the light-trap around the back itself is molded accurately. Light leaks in a Holga usually originate from the red window, the two holes above the film gate, unwanted detachment of the back, or when removing a loosely-wound finished roll.

Modifications and Accessories

Although it has become less important with later production models, the low-tech (and flawed) nature of the Holga has inspired an active modding community. Users may reduce interior reflections with matte black spray paint, or add Velcro straps to affix the back more securely. Removal of the front lens assembly is not difficult, making it possible to add a filter gel to the "sunny" position or decrease the minimum-focusing distance. Others Holgas have been modified to include cable releases, tripod mounts (lacking on the original 120S), and even to shoot 35mm film. Holgamods.com explains the common modifications and what they do.

As the popularity of the Holga grew, a greater number of accessories have been offered. Some do the same thing as a modified Holga without the need for DIY modifications; while other accessories add special effects. Such accessories include:

Cable release, which which slips onto the lens so that a cable release can depress the shutter. Also includes tripod mount since the Holga 120N's mount is covered by the accessory.

35mm Film Adapter, available in two models: full negative and "panoramic." Both adapters come with a light-proof back and a mask made to hold the 135 cannister in place. The only difference between the two models is the size of the mask. The "panoramic" adapter will mask out the sprocket holes. A rarer model available in Japan is an all-in-one back and cartridge unit.

Filter holder and filters. Filter holders can hold one or two filters, depending on the model of the holder. Filters come in special effect filters, color filters, and center spot filters (which leaves a normal center, but a coloured surrounding).

Holgon Strobe Flash, a bulky flash which features multi flash strobe (which keeps flashing as long as the shutter stays open in bulb mode) or single flash (a more powerful flash, which will flash once on pressing the shutter and a second time on release). Features vertical adjustable angles.

Holgon Slave Flash, a small, round slave flash meant for placing on a surface or handheld. Good for any kind of secondary light. Some units will come with multi coloured filters to place over the flash.

Camera bags, available in a small and a large size. Will fit the Holga, a Polaroid back, and some accessories.

Holga Enlargers, an inexpensive darkroom enlarger with two available lenses and several masks/negative carriers for both 120 and 35mm formats.

Recently, Holgas have become available in a kit form which acknowledges and even celebrates their low-tech nature. The kit includes a manual that details the camera's idiosyncrasies, as well as a roll of black tape for taping up light leaks, though the manual notes that many Holga devotees regard light leaks as part of the camera's signature style. Holgas are also now available in special edition colours for some models, including White, Silver (which adds silver accents to some areas of the Holga), and Gold. These special edition colours normally sell for $40-$50.